Western Digital unleashes the 300GB VelociRaptor

Western Digitals Raptor line of high performance hard drives has long been a favorite among gamers and PC enthusiasts alike. But though theyve been in production since early 2003, there has been little to none competition in this performance market. And now, the company has upped the ante with a brand-new enthusiast-class hard drive: the 10,000 RPM, 300GB VelociRaptor.

Despite offering the same 16MB buffer and 10,000 RPM spindle speed as its predecessor, WDs VelociRaptor sports a completely new design that offers significantly increased performance in terms of access times and data transfer rates. The new drive is actually a 2.5-inch hard drive with a massive Icepack heat sink that makes it large enough to fit in a 3.5-inch bay, while keeping it extra cool. The new drive will be available in mid-May for $299.99, in the meantime you can read Hot Hardwares take on this high-performance beast.